Wednesday, 7 December 2011

"What did the inside of Herdin's house look like?" Wallander asked.
"Old-fashioned. But clean, tidy. Strangely enough, he uses a microwave to do his cooking. He offered me homemade rolls. He has a big parrot in a cage. The farm is well cared for. The whole place looks neat. No broken-down fences."
"What make of car does he drive?"
"A red Mercedes."
"A Mercedes?"
"Yes, a Mercedes."
"I thought he told us it was hard making ends meet."
"Well, that Mercedes of his would have set him back 300,000 plus."
Wallander thought for a moment. "We need to know more about Lars Herdin. Even if he says he has no idea who killed them, he could easily know something without realising it himself."
"What's that got to do with the Mercedes?"
"Nothing. I've just got a hunch that Herdin is more important to us than he thinks he is. And we might wonder how a farmer today can afford to buy a car for 300,000 kronor. Maybe he has a receipt that says he bought a tractor."